In the little insular community that is the building I work in, you acquire habits. Surrounded by talented peers, constantly admiring others and wanting to do work that is as good, as challenging, as great, your expectations of others start to change. I’ve found myself asking “so what do you do” instead of “how do you do” much more often and becoming more and more critical of my time and how I spend it, both as a manager and as a designer.
It’s easier to just spend your days consuming: email, other people’s music, other people’s links, thoughts, etc without ever creating yourself. The head space necessary to create, to design, to act in the world is, if you let it, much smaller than it was before. Made me nervous all of a sudden. An informational backlash if you will.
You are defined by what you make, and you define yourself by the act of making. Lack of definition is just a by-product of not spending enough time contributing to those infamous 10K hours. So here’s to more making.